10 



N. H. Agri. Experiment Station [Station Bull. 307 



handlers. The following paragraphs, then, apply to other areas in the 

 state in addition to Lancaster. 



All trucks were owned and operated by independent operators who 

 made their conti-acts with producers and planned their routes them- 

 selves. Handlers to whose plants the milk was brought, took no active 

 part in setting rates or arranging routes, althougli they usually col- 

 lected the hauler's charges for him by deducting it fi-om the milk check. 



In contrast to this separation of the handling of milk at the country 

 plant and the operation of the truck routes, in many parts of the United 

 States these two operations are under the same control. Where such a 

 situation exists, tlie producer is frequently required to send his milk on 

 a particular truck and pay the rate set if he wishes to sell milk to that 

 particular plant. Such a system may be operated so as to burden the 

 producer with transportation charges greatly in excess of the cost of 

 the service rendered. 



Table I. Description of commercial truck routes operating in Lancaster 

 and Nashua, daily average, June, 1937.' 



Lancaster 



Nashua 



Total number of routes 

 Type of operator 



Total distance traveled (miles round trip) 



On hard road — miles 



On unpaved road — miles 

 Number of stops made 



At individual farms 



At collection points on main road 

 Number of farms served 

 Amount of milk collected — pounds 



Per stop — pounds 



Per farm — pounds 

 Capacity of truck — tons 

 Time from garage to plant — hours 

 Number of men employed on truck 

 Gross income 

 Charges per hundredweight — cents 



' Average per route except where noted. 



^ Less than one per route. 



^ Weighted average 20.41 cents. 



' Weighted average 27.00 cents. 



Including two routes operating almost entirely in Vermont, there 

 were 15 commercial truck routes carrying milk to Laneastei- in June, 

 1937. Significant data regarding the 13 routes which are largely with- 

 in New Ilampsliirt; art' given in Table I. Tliis table does not show, 

 however, the wide variation between routes. P"'or this reason tiie aver- 

 ages presented are apt to be misleading and may be typical of none of 

 the routes, and therefore should be used with great caution. 



This description of the lunding of milk in the Lancaster area indi- 

 cates tile general pattern of milk trucking in the Connecticut River 

 valley, where most of the milk goes to country stations supplying the 

 Boston market. In the following section the trucking of milk in a dif- 

 ferent section of the state to a difTerent market is outlined. 



